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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27194617">In the Cave of Light</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lumienarc/pseuds/lumienarc'>lumienarc</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Hauntober 2020 [10]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 16:41:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,743</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27194617</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lumienarc/pseuds/lumienarc</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Another late entry for Hauntober 2020 prompt #25: Crystals</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Hauntober 2020 [10]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948243</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>In the Cave of Light</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>A cave deep in the northern forest was full of enchanting crystals, as blue as the sky in a sunny day, as cool as the sea glistening under the sun. There was a small waterfall and tiny lake in front of it. A shallow pond was inside that cave as well, the water reflected the light captured and emitted by the crystals. It wasn’t protruding, perfectly shaped crystal. Everything was exactly like rough crystals inside a rock, unpolished and might be dangerous. It wasn’t like common stalagmite or stalactite either. Between many of those rocky crystals, lived many blind fishes and salamanders. Cedric and Margo were only two among so very few people that knew about that cave mainly because of the biota living there. They needed to gather some of the troglobiont for their potions.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Cedric went up to the cave early in the morning led by Mary the bat who was assigned to check on an olitiau that was hiding in that cave after being hunted down by some maniac out of its original place in Africa. Cedric never saw the olitiau himself, but he heard the voice sometimes and he saw it flew several times out of the mountain for food. Cedric couldn’t talk to the bat or the olitiau, but Mary understood him. Though, he wished he understood her instead especially because suddenly the bat stopped before they entered the cave.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Mary, what is it?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The bat seemed to be contemplating for a while and then she just flew into the cave as she should be. Cedric was baffled, but he followed her. He fastened his bag and muttered a short incantation that he learnt early on to open a way through the small waterfall. The crystals inside the cave brightened the space during the day because there was an opening somewhere up there, shot into some of the crystals connected to the ones inside the cave. This was the main reason why the olitiau didn’t show itself to Cedric. The olitiau lived deeper in the cave where there was almost no light. While Cedric prepared himself to gather some blind fishes, Mary the bat flew further. Cedric stopped when he saw there was someone else in that cave. He had never seen this person here.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>It was a man, so it alerted him. He looked huge compared to Cedric himself who was lean and of average height, he looked a bit sickly actually because he was too pale and his black baggy eyes didn’t really help either. The stranger, however, looked like a man who was supposed to be carved into a sculpture solely because of his looks. Cedric put his fishing coil back into his bag. He tiptoed toward the stranger who was sitting by the water, eyes up to the crystals with a small smile on his face. He had a big cloak that he put next to him. At first Cedric thought it was a huge crystal he was covering, but it was another person.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t come any closer.” A soft voice echoed. The man didn’t say anything, Cedric had his eyes on him closely, so he knew. The man turned to </span>
  <span>Cedric;</span>
  <span> smile dropped.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” he said. Certainly, his voice was deep, so the one that told Cedric to stop was obviously not him. As Cedric wondered, the cloak moved and a very pale face of a woman popped up from it. Cedric felt coldness run down his body as soon as her eyes met his. In his mind, he thought that the woman must not be a human, but she looked like one.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are you here, Cedric Dijon?” she asked. The voice was the same as the one that was heard earlier. It sent chills down Cedric’s spine. The man next to her put an arm around where her shoulders should be, in an overprotective manner. Cedric felt that he was supposed to know her, but he didn’t.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I...” Cedric’s voice cracked out of fear that he didn’t realise until he opened his mouth to speak. He coughed. “I am just here to fish.” The woman slipped back into the cloak and pressed her head to the man’s chest as his bare arm held her even tighter. Cedric took out his fishing coil and went to the other spot away from the two strangers.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Cedric sat and began fishing. He stole a glance from time to time at the man and the woman in the cloak. They were just cuddling and speaking in low voices. He could hear the man laughing soft here and there, and it was just like watching a regular couple that was shyer than most. He caught the fishes as quick as possible and then when he was ready to call Mary back, Mary had flown back from the depth. She didn’t come to Cedric as usual, though. She landed next to cloaked woman. Just then it hit him.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, my, I am ashamed of myself,” he murmured.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“There is no shame in not knowing,” the man said because clearly Cedric’s voice was easily heard in the cave unless he spoke as softly as the couple before. “I am happy that you didn’t recognise her. No one should see her except me.” He was extremely serious and it also scared Cedric.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop scaring the poor man,” the woman said. She let her eyes appear. “You were not supposed to see how I look after all, Cedric. Go on with your fishes. Mary will show you out as usual.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Cedric nodded and bowed slightly. He could feel the man’s eyes were still on him as he walked out with Mary the bat flying to guide him. Cedric felt the burden evaporate as soon as he was back in the forest. He reached the cottage where Mary lived and he bid the bat goodbye. He didn’t need a guide to leave the forest. He walked back to his house and thought of what he had just witnessed today in that cave.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“What did happen, dear?” Cecilia asked. He didn’t realise that he had been inside his house. Cecilia was looking at him with eyebrow raised from where she was standing in the kitchen, making lunch. Cedric blinked and then walked over to kiss her. “What is wrong?” Cecilia kissed him back, but she sensed he was distracted.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I saw her in the cave with a man. I didn’t know it was her. I’m still embarrassed.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Honey, you never really saw her before, don’t be embarrassed,” Cecilia said, laughing. She patted his cheek gently. “But a man? Now that is something new. I thought no man saw her except you and Sam who delivers her food.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m pretty sure this man is her lover. I didn’t hear his name or whatever she called him with, but just seeing them, it was too obvious. I won’t judge, but it was shocking knowing how she hates people equally. This man, I don’t know him either. I might not go to the town and the village much, but I know them all, don’t I?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“No, honey, Sam has this friend. He is very popular, but he is also very private that I wouldn’t even hear of him if Sam didn’t run his mouth.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that man!” Cedric remembered now. Cecilia nodded as she went to table with the </span>
  <span>soup</span>
  <span> she was now ready to serve. Cedric vaguely remembered Cecilia told him about Sam’s good-looking friend. “Well, he looked as tall as Sam, and he was buff like Sam. It might be him after all.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“And now, lunch, my darling. Don’t think about it anymore. You know she prefers to keep her personal life as private as possible,” Cecilia said. “Let it go.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“All right, I’ll put my fishes away first.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>*****</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>In the cave of crystals, the man and the woman in a cloak stayed as they were left by Cedric and Mary. They were still cuddling, but the woman had come out of the cloak now. The man was spending his time staring at her instead of the crystals while she was looking at them.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s quiet,” she commented. “I like it.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I love it,” he replied. She turned her face up, eyes meeting his.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“And I love you.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The man’s face reddened instantly.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you serious?” He sounded like he was choking. “I must ask because you teased me all the time. Did you mean it?” She straightened her body without her eyes leaving his. She lifted herself to her knees so she didn’t have to look up too much. She held his face with both hands and his face couldn’t get any redder—so the redness spread down to his chest.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I am still not sure what love is supposed to be, but I think my feelings have reached that level. I love you.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“No one knows what love really is supposed to be, but if you always miss me when we don’t see each other, if you always think of me, and you feel happy and safe when you are with me... because that’s how I feel. I have always wanted to say it to you, but I thought you wouldn’t be able to take it. Everyone believed you aren’t capable to feel, I disagree even though your face isn’t flushed,” he chuckled. His hands were shaking when he raised them to touch her face. She was still pale, but her eyes were warm despite the light of the crystals made everything look cool. The blue colour suited her, he loved seeing her in it... he loved her.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I have been wanting to say it to you for the longest time,” she murmured, her eyes suddenly glazy. Her voice strained.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you. I love you so much,” he said finally. “Can I kiss you?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I might bite you, you know,” she teased.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You can bite me,” he answered shyly. “You can drink my blood too if you want.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t say that to a vampire, as less as a vampire I am compared to the regular ones,” she warned. He leaned close to test and she didn’t move away. “Thank you for coming into my life. I have lived a long, meaningless life.” Tears came down her cheeks just a second before kissing him. The crystals shone a little brighter as the sun got higher. She should be back home right now and sleep, but they didn’t care for that.</span>
  
</p>
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